Free Essay

Puppy Mills

In:

Submitted By heidimann2001
Words 1534
Pages 7
Heidi Mann
Mrs. Bredeson
English ІV
9 January 2013
Puppy Mills There are a countless number of problems facing our society today. People place them into different groups according to how important they believe the topic is. At the top of some peoples list would be topics like obesity, hunger, and pollution, but what about the topic of puppy mills. Do people realize how big of a problem puppy mills are? I don’t think they do. Even though puppy mills are not at the top of everyone’s world problems list they are a big problem facing our society today. Most people have an idea about what a puppy mill is, but they don’t know to exact definition of what a puppy mill is and what takes place there. A puppy mill is an inhumane, dog-breeding facility where the health of all the dogs is disregarded in order to have fewer expenses and have a higher profit. What does that really mean though? It means that the dogs are kept in cages their whole life, feed and watered the bare minimum, and never get vet or any medical treatment for anything. According to McHugh-Smith, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, “Lots of times the animals aren’t properly vaccinated, are unhealthy, are too young, or are out in the sun all day” (Stephans). When dogs are kept in cages outside all day to fend for themselves in whatever weather they can get sick, get overheated, or even die from the heat or cold, but we have to ask our selves is it better to keep them caged in a dark room where the only sunlight they get is the door opening? Animals are like humans and need sunlight but not all the day. Wellesley Coun. Dussan Cizman, a former dog breeder who is now helping to shut puppy mills down recalls one dark barn where dogs, covered in feces and bugs, were housed in rabbit pens suspended form the ceiling (Nicole). In other words puppy mills are cruel places were dogs are breed for profit at the risk of their health and well being. The damage done to dogs at puppy mills is life treating. The puppies that you buy from these breeders may have a number of these health related issues: epilepsy, heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, anemia, deafness, glaucoma, parvovirus, kennel cough, pneumonia, mange, fleas, ticks, parasites, heartworms, and many other issues. Some of these issues can be fatal to the animal. The female breeding dogs in a puppy mill are breed as frequently as possible. The puppies they have are taken away from their mother prematurely. This causes the puppies to have more health problems. The poor dogs in puppy mills may also be subjected to matted fur, over grown nails, injuries, and fighting. When puppy mills are shut down other surrounding shelters and kennels take the dogs in and have to clean them up, get them medical help, feed, and house them. That can add up to a lot of extra money that they don’t necessarily have to spend. If the puppy mill owner doesn’t pay their fines the shelter or kennels can put them up for adoption once they have completed their treatments. Even though most people think that puppy mills are going out of business, they are very wrong. According to The Humane Society of the United States there are 10,000 licensed and unlicensed puppy mills (Humane). According the Animal Rescue Corps there are 15,000 puppy mills that produce millions of puppies a year (Animal). Puppy mills are not illegal or regulated. Many people think the AKC regulates puppy mills but all the AKC does is register dogs that have two parents of the same breed. “Puppy mills comprise 80% of the AKC’s business” (Friends) they certainly don’t help the puppy mill cause. Then you have the USDA who has few agents that are able to inspect all the puppy mills. Even if they were able to inspect the licensed puppy mills there is no way of ever finding out where all the unlicensed puppy mills are. With over two million puppies sold annually that originated from puppy mills (Humane) it is hard to sell dogs and puppies that are in shelters. Three million dogs and cats are euthanized by shelters each year in the U.S. (Humane). If we didn’t buy puppy mill puppies online or in pet stores we would save around one to two million dogs every year. Puppy mills are also not against the law which makes it extremely hard to shut them down. “Although all 50 states have anti-cruelty laws intended to prevent neglect and mistreatment of dogs, most large-scale breeding facilities continue to operate in ways that mock these laws” (Humane). They are able to do this because there is no one to regulate the way they practice their business. Many people think that puppy mills are a dying industry, but they are growing. With so many puppy mill puppies being bought many breeders are able to expand their operations making more dogs suffer every day.
Many things are being done to stop puppy mills every day, but they are barely making any head way to solve the problem. There are now over 2,000 pet stores who will not sell puppies from puppy mills. In order not to sell puppy mill puppies they are not selling puppies at all. Around Chicago there are more than 2,000 puppies shipped from puppy mills (Humane). Instead of selling puppies they work with local Humane Societies to help get dogs adopted. Although this is a big step for the HSUS and pet stores there are so many more pet stores who still need to convert to this method. Government is stepping in and making more laws and rules to how breeding can be done by passing laws. In El Paso County “Animals can no longer be sold, traded or given away on public roadsides or parking lost anywhere in El Paso County” (Stephens). Although this doesn’t limit the right to sell puppy mill animals or other animals it makes it harder for breeders to get their name and animals out to the public. “If you didn’t buy puppies from puppy mills, they wouldn’t be in business” (Nicole). That is the one and only thing we can do as citizens to stop puppy mills—stop purchasing puppies from pet stores, over the internet, from unknown breeders, and unlicensed breeders. If the public doesn’t make and effort to stop purchasing these puppies there will always be a reason for a puppy mill.
Good breeders will spend a lot of money to have a nice facility where the dogs are treated like pets and will make good pets. When Wellesley Township when the local government cracked down on breeding facilities Shirley Gerber, a 14-year dog breeder, devoted $70,000 to build one of the best facilities out there (Nicole). She only has thirteen dogs and they are not crazy for attention because they are raised properly and get to socialize not only other dogs but humans as well. “I don’t make money like these puppy mills do” (Nicole), said Shirley. Another reputable dog breeder said, “I have very little (profit) left at the end of it” (Nicole).
Puppy mills can only be stopped by one thing and that is to stop buying puppies from places other than shelters, where you can go and see how they run things. Without doing this the buyer would never be able to see if the dogs came from a puppy mill or not, and chances are if they won’t let someone tour the facility they have something to hide. People with all different types of religion and backgrounds may be selling puppy mill puppies. Amish for example have puppy mills because they believe that they can treat people however they want because in the Bible humans are put to rule over animals (Herbst). Whatever the reason is it is wrong. People don’t like being housed in tiny areas with no room to grow and move, why should animals be kept that way? They need to run and see day light and the inside of a nice warm house in order to be good pets. It’s time to take a stand against puppy mills.

Works Cited
Animal Rescue Corps. “What is a Puppy Mill.” Animalrescuecorps. N.p.. 2012. Web. 3 Jan. 2013
Herbust, Diane. “The Puppy Saver.” People 70. 13 (2008: 163. MAS Ultra – School Edition Web. 13 Dec. 2012
Humane Society Staff. The Humane Society of the United States. The Human Society of the United States, n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 2013
Friend of Animal Staff. “Puppy Mills, Pet Shops, and the AKC Basic Facts.” Friendsofanimals. N.p. n.d. Web. 3 Jan. 2013
Nicole, MacIntyre. “SO CUTE. SO SICK; PUPPU MILL BREEDERS CONTINE TO FOOL UNSUPECTING PET LOVERS.” Record, The (Kitchener/Cambridge/Wateloo, ON) n.d.: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 19 Dec. 2012
Stephens, Bob. “County, city ban animal sales on roadsides, parking lots.” Gazette, the (Colorado Springs, CO)20 Nov, 2012: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 18 Dec. 2102

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Effect of Puppy Mills

...Effects of Puppy Mills Throughout history dogs have played many roles in the life of humans. From companion to helper, dogs serve important roles in our society. Not only are dogs adopted for friendship but also to be guide dogs, herders, search and rescue, and K9 units in police and fire stations. These dogs are extremely important to our society and need to be well behaved, healthy, and mentally stable. In order to be all of these the dog has to be raised properly. As someone who loves animals and aspires to be a veterinary technologist I find it heart breaking to see dogs caged up for what is considered their childhood. It concerns me to see puppies raised in such horrible conditions and gets me wondering. I started thinking about the ways puppy mills can affect a dog, not only its health but its behavior as well. This led me to this question: How do puppy mills’ conditions affect a dogs behaviors and health, not only while in the puppy mill but in its new life outside of the mill as well? The first thing I decided to do was to contact my local veterinarian to see if he could help me better understand how puppy mills can affect a dog’s life when they finally get out. I figured that there was a good chance he might have come across dogs from puppy mills throughout his career and who better to ask than someone who deals with the health of animals. He, however, said he had no knowledge that he had actually treated dogs that came from puppy mills. Since the veterinarian did...

Words: 1308 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Puppy Mill Research Paper

...Puppy Mills Should Be Stopped Do you know that Missouri and Iowa have the largest number of puppy mills in the United States? I think puppy mills should be illegal in the United States. They should be illegal because they treat dogs cruelly, they over breed the females, and they don’t provide a healthy environment for the dogs. Puppy mills should be stopped because they are cruel to dogs. In puppy mills, dogs spend most of their lives in cramped cages, with no room to play or exercise. “A puppy mill is a commercial dog breeding facility that focuses on increasing profit with little cost.” The puppy’s health is poor and welfare of the dogs is not healthy and poor. According to (ASPCA) puppy mills are...

Words: 482 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Puppy Mill Research Paper

...The unaware person may never know how many puppies are dying in puppy mills. Millions of dogs are bred and crammed together, and millions more are shot or drowned every year. These puppy mills are buildings where dogs are kept in inhumane conditions, packed together by the hundreds, with no good food or water. They pass as ordinary breeders who sell puppies to pet stores, and the unlucky person who purchases the sick dog may have it die on them, or it will live in fear and anxiety (ASPCA). With the many problems they bring upon society, people can stop puppy mills by taking a stand in their community, donating to foundations, and making adoption the first option. Background information In this case, puppy mills are keeping dogs in inhuman conditions. Puppy mills are crowded, have almost no food or water, and give little-to-no veterinary care. These dogs are susceptible to blood and respiratory disorders, and multiple behavior problems (ASPCA). To emphasize, people do not know these dogs are being treated terribly, and they continue to let breeders bring living and breathing creatures into these areas. To add to that, dogs in puppy mills are...

Words: 1139 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Informative Speech On Puppy Mill

...The word puppy brings a lot of excitement to many people. Any one animal lover cannot resist a cute, innocent puppy. A dog makes a house a home, in lives of many people. When it comes to buying a puppy research not only about the breed of the puppy but the breeders reputation (or rescue of course). Thinking of the word puppy I think of nothing but wonderful things, sweet grunts, kisses and much more. As I sit here now I have to think puppy mill and that is truly terrifying. When it comes to Puppy Mills, many people do not know the extent of absolute horror any one puppy or dog lives through. A puppy mill is a large-scale dog breeding site, that is overcrowded and never sanitary. The operator of a mill has (depending on the size) hundreds of...

Words: 416 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Puppy Mill Research Paper

...As a dog lover, puppy mills are a big concern of mine. There are almost 10,000 active puppy mills in just the United states. What is a puppy mill? A puppy mill is a place where they breed large amounts of puppies to sell to pet stores and consumers. Puppy mills are not good places to raise dogs. Females don’t receive enough food or care, they continue to producing litter after litter until they die of neglect or disease. According to the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), ”in most states puppy mills are illegal.” Also “ most puppy mill owners pose as a loving dog breeder and they will say I only have a few puppies to sell, and I love all my dogs.” This is a trick that puppy mill owners use to get you to buy there dogs...

Words: 402 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Puppy Mill Research Paper

...Puppy Mill or Prison According to the ASPCA, a puppy mill is a large-scale commercial dog breeding facility where profit is given priority over the well-being of dogs. That definition should automatically raise a red flag. Laws should be passed banning puppy mills throughout the United States. Statistics from The Humane Society state that out of approximately 10,000 puppy mills in the U.S, less than 3,000 are actually regulated by the U.S Department of Agriculture. Laws should be passed banning puppy mills throughout the United States because of horrifying statistics and conditions of puppy mills. Firstly, a shelter dog is euthanized each time a dog originating from a puppy mill is purchased. The following statistics show how consequential...

Words: 282 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Pros And Cons Of Puppy Mills

...In a cage that is only six inches longer and six inches wider than a dog's body, there is no room for this dog to run or get the physical activity necessary. The wire cages are caked with feces from other dogs, from cages that are stacked above. This is completely legal in the United States. According to ASPCA Puppy Mills are “ a large-scale commercial dog breeding facility where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dog” (“A Closer Look”). In addition to stricter enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, each dog in commercial breeding facilities must get veterinary visits to ensure health and proper treatment. Puppy mills are: unsanitary, unethical, and worst of all, completely legal. According to the United States Department...

Words: 650 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Informative Essay On Puppy Mill

...shops in the mall, adoring how cute those tiny puppies are? I know I have, many times. But unfortunately I've learned the exotic truth about how these adorable puppies were raised. The greed of what they went through. According to aspca.org, the number of dogs in a puppy mill can vary significantly, ranging from 10 to 1,000 breeding dogs. Buying puppies from shops that carry puppies from puppy mills isn't the best idea. Puppies sold in pet shops are mainly 99% from puppy mills, female dogs or female puppies are the sole purpose of mass-producing puppies. In which, they're inhabited into wired cages with unsanitary conditions. Female dogs that are raised in puppy mills produce almost about...

Words: 459 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Argument Against Puppy Mills

...Imagine, you’re in a cage, there is a wire floor beneath your feet and the cages are not clean. No one ever lets you out and to make things worse, the cage is very crowded, there are way too many of you in that cage. This is what dogs in an average puppy mill go through every day. But before I continue, what is a puppy mill? According to source 1, puppy mills are large-scale commercial dog breeding facilities that care more about profit than they do the well-being of the dogs. The idea to persuade you against puppy mills today came from a story I heard a friend of my mom’s, who is a dog trainer, tell my mom. A quick summery of this story is, the owners got this dog from a puppy mill by accident and they ended up paying more money to get him...

Words: 271 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Stop Puppy Mill Research Paper

...Stop Puppy Mills Blood. Urine. Feces. Matted in all the puppies fur, in a puppy mill. Wimpers. Crys. Pleas. All you hear in a puppy mill. Rusty cages. Disgusting water. Moldy food. All you see in a puppy mill. Puppy mills are atrocious, stop them! With these horrible conditions these puppies are without a doubt unhealthy. The reason being puppies are removed from their mothers and littermates at a young age, which causes them to suffer from anxiety, fear and other behavioral problems. Such as fears of common things, repetitive and compulsive behaviors, and sensitivity to being touched (found on ASPCA, HSVMA and Animal Rescue Corps). Along with that puppies that come from puppy mills often arrive in pet stores and in their new homes with...

Words: 351 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

People Buying Pets from Pet Shops Abetted Inhuman Puppy Mills

...People buying pets from pet shops abetted inhuman puppy mills In the recent years, more people are buying pets than ever and this has become a trend. The main reason for this are because of the increasing awareness of the advantages of pet ownership and the disposable income per capital (Pet Care Industry Analysis, 2015). The demand for pets, especially cats and dogs, is expected to continue to rise through 2018 and probably beyond (10). However, when more people are buying pets from pet shops, it would directly abetted and supported the puppy mills industry. Puppy mills and pet shops are mostly for profited, and their way of producing animals are cruel and inhuman. In order to protect animal rights and break this merciless cycle, the best solutions are to adopt from shelters or rescue organizations (19) rather buying from pet shops and never abandon pets. Puppy mill, also known as puppy farm, is a commercial animal breeding organization or kennel that breed puppies in large amounts (18). They aim to make profit through reproducing and selling the animals to pet shops. “Puppy mill dogs are viewed as a crop to their breeders, are bred as a means of profit, and are seen as a commodity, no different than soybeans or metal widgets.”(3) Most of them are illegal and inhuman. In order to minimize the cost and maximize the profit, most of the puppy mills have extremely poor environment and facilities for reproducing dogs. Dogs may suffer from different affliction such as lack of...

Words: 1380 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Argumentative Essay On Puppy Mill Papers

...The Detriment of Puppy Mills According to the American Society for the Prevention and Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), “a puppy mill is a large scale commercial dog breeding facility where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dogs” (Puppy Mills, ASPCA). The standards governing the care of the dogs in these breeding facilities come under the federal Animal Welfare Act. The agency that is responsible for overseeing the breeding industry and enforcing the Animal Welfare Act is the United States Department of Agriculture. Unfortunately, the current AWA standards are too minimal and lack enforcement. The Puppy Mill Project claims that “The AWA also leaves significant discretion in the hands of puppy mill owners to decide what constitutes...

Words: 1372 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Puppy Mills: Poor Breeding Conditions

...Due to the frequently poor breeding conditions in puppy mills, puppies bred there often suffer from health and/or social problems. Puppies raised in a cramped environment shared by many other dogs become poorly socialized to other dogs and to humans. Dogs are then transported over long distances in poor conditions, sometimes resulting in animal stress and death. As the surviving mill dogs grow older, they are more prone to developing respiratory ailments and pneumonia, as well as hereditary defects such as hip dysplasia.[2] In addition, mill dogs are more prone to have problems with their temperament due to lack of socialization, enrichment, and positive human contact. Puppies from mills are usually sold as purebred dogs in an attempt to attract...

Words: 277 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Puppy Mills

...I am sure most of you have at one time or another crossed a pet store with cute little, happy puppies staring at you through the glass windows. Animals bring such joy and wonder into our lives. What can be more exciting than sharing your life with a young puppy as it grows; watching it develop its own personality, and experiencing the unconditional love that is given by our furry, four-legged friends? As any devoted pet owner can tell you, proper care and nutrition can help establish a foundation of good health and ensures a long, happy life for your pet. Unfortunately, many consumers are unaware that the sweet little puppy that peered hopefully at them from the pet store window or the enticing advertisement in the newspaper that offered a pure bred puppy for such a bargain often comes with a hidden catch – these puppies, and their abundance of health problems, may be coming from a puppy mill. Puppy mills are either operated in private homes, farms or underground run organizations where they are not easily monitored by animal control units. It’s a large-scale commercial, outside, breeding facility with many different breeds of dogs. Dogs are forced to breed continuously without any rest between cycles. Starting six months after the birth of a female dog, she is bred every heat cycle. Could you imagine being six months old and being forced to have babies?! Female dogs are constantly pregnant, and due to lack of veterinary care they become extremely weak, malnourished and...

Words: 1132 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Persuasive Essay On Puppy Mills

...bet is heard a lot that I can agree with is my pets. Animals not only spread joy in our lives they enhance and enrich them. Can you guess how many families in America own a dog? I bet it would surprise you if I explained that even though 54.4 million (American Pet Products Association, 2015) households in America own a dog there are still six to eight million (Humane Society, 2014) in animal shelters. This is the reason why America should make puppy mills illegal, make spaying and neutering your pet mandatory unless you have been given a license to breed, and be very stringent on the qualifications of breeders.(awesome thesis!)...

Words: 572 - Pages: 3